Car-door.



v G. M. CHRISTENSEN.

. OAR DOOR. APPLICATION FILED MAY 3, 1910. I 975,209. Patented Nov. 8,1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

. awe/1M GorzraaZMOirzlrZmmw NOR cm, wAsHmaro'N, D c.

c. M. CHRISTENSEN.

GAR DOOR.

APPLICATION IILEDMAY 3, 1910.

975,209. Patented Nov. 8', 1910.

2 SHEETS-SHEET a;

Comaa'ZM imisiiqzsen/ CONRAD M. CHRISTENSEN, 0F LEEDS, NORTH DAKOTA.

CAR-DOOR.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CONRAD M. CHRISTEN- SEN, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Leeds, in the county of Benson and State of NorthDakota, have invented new and useful Improvements in Car-Doors, of whichthe following is a specification.

The present invention appertains to the type of doors for use inconnection with cars for hauling grain and other commodity in bulk, thepurpose being to devise novel mountings and securing means whereby thedoor when closed may be held in place against casual movement, andwhereby when it is required to discharge the load the door may bereleased and swung outward or moved upward and when not required forimmediate service may be suspended from the roof of the car so as to bewholly out of the way, the same catch or bolt employed for securing thelower end of the door also answering for holding the door suspended fromthe roof.

The invention consists of the novel features, details of constructionand combination of parts, which hereinafter will be more particularlyset forth, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out inthe appended claim.

Referring to the drawings, forming a part of the application, Figure 1is a frontview of a car door embodying the invention, showing a portionof a grain car to illustrate the application of the invention. Fig. 2 isa section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, the dotted lines showing the doorswung outward at its lower end. Fig. 3 is a section similar to Fig. 2with the door suspended from the ceiling, the dotted lines illustratingthe door when elevated and supported by the suspending loops of theguide rods. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the door. Fig. 5 is ahorizontal section on the line 55 of Fig. 1.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription, and indi-, cated in all the views of the drawings, by thesame reference characters.

The side of the car for receiving the grain or other commodity to behauled in bulk is provided with the usual door opening 1, whlch isadapted to be closed by a door 2 mounted both to swing inwardly andoutwardly and to move vertically. The door 2 may be of any substantialconstruction and is strengthened at its vertical edges by Specificationof Letters Patent.

Application filed May 3, 1910.

Patented Nov. 8, 1910.

Serial No. 559,052.

means of cleats 3 and its lower edge by means of a horizontal cleat 4:,said cleats being secured to the outer side of the door. A rod or bar 5is secured to the upper end of the door, preferably upon the inner sidethereof, and its ends project beyond the vertical edges of the door soas to engage guide rods 6 attached to the posts upon opposite sides ofthe door opening so as toretain the door in proper position and directthe same in its movements. The guide rods 6 are secured to the innersides of the door posts and are formed near their upper ends withcrimped portions 7, which constitute suspending loops to receive theprojecting ends of the rod or bar 5, so as to hold the door elevated, asshown most clearly in Fig. 3. The door 2 is of a width to fit snuglybetween the door posts 8, thereby preventing longitudinal movement whenthe door is closed, When the door is released it may be swung outward atits lower end, as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 2, or it may beelevated and suspended from the loops 7 or it may be both elevated andswung inward and suspended from the ceiling, as shown by the full linesin Fig. 3. The door is suspended in the latter manner so as to beentirely out of the way when not required for immediate service forclosing the door opening.

A sliding catch or bolt 9 is fitted in an opening formed in thehorizontal cleat at and is adapted to enter an opening formed in thedoor sill so as to secure the door against internal pressure whenclosed. hen the door is elevated and swung inward the catch or bolt 9 isadapted to en gage an eye 10 secured to a beam or other part of the roofstructure. The lower end of the catch or bolt 9 is enlarged so as toform a shoulder 11, which is adapted to engage with the eye 10 toprevent possible slipping when the door is suspended from the ceiling,as indicated in Fig. 3. The upper end of the catch or bolt 9 is likewiseenlarged, as indicated at 12, to provide both a finger piece and a stop,whereby the catch may be easily manipulated and whereby it is preventedfrom loss or outward displacement.

An operating lever 13 is pivoted to the outer side of the door 2. andoccupies an approximately vertical position. Pairs of bolts 14 havetheir inner ends overlapping opposite sides of the lever 13 and pivotedthereto, the outer ends of the bolts passing through openings formed in,the vertical cleats 3 and adapted to enter openings formed in the sidesof the door posts 8 facing the door opening 1. A pair of bolts 14 areprovided for each side of the door and the bolts have pivotal connectionwith the operating lever upon opposite sides of the fulcrum thereof,whereby both pairs of bolts are simultaneously operated'either torelease or to secure the door. The inner portions of the bolts 14 areflattened and. are arranged upon opposite sides of the operating leverto which they are secured by the same pivotfastening. The outer orengaging ends of the bolts are spaced apart a distance to secure boththe upper and lower portions of the door, thereby providing a reliablefastening.

When the door is closed and secured it fits between the door posts 8 andthe catch 9 engages the door sill and the outer ends of the bolts 14engage the door posts 8, thereby securing the door against movement inany direction. When it is required to discharge the load the catch 9 ismoved'to disengage it from the'door sill, after which the lever 13 isoperated to withdraw the bolts 14 from engagement with the door posts,when the door will swing outward at its lower end under the pressureexerted thereagainst from within the car. As the pressure is relievedfrom the inner side of the door the latter may be elevated and suspendedfrom the loops 7, thereby admitting of free access to the interior ofthe car, or if desired the door 2 after being suspended from theloops 7may be swung inward and suspended from the ceiling by means of the catch9, as inclicated in Fig. 8.

Plates 15 are placed against the inner side of the door 2 at o positeends thereof and are slidable so as to engage the inner sides of thedoor posts 16 and insure a close joint therewith to prevent the escapeof grain or other commodity. The plates 15 also serve to prevent outwarddisplacement of the door when subjected to pressure from within. Anymeans may be employed for securing the plates 15 to the door 2, whichwill admit of a limited sliding movement of said plates. The bolts 14are utilized both as securing means for the plates and also as operatingmeans therefor. For this purpose the bolts 14 have offset portions 17near their outer ends, which pass through slots 18 formed in the door 2,the offset portions 17 passing :shown most clearly in Fig. 5.

through openings formed in the plates 15 and the end portions of thebolts beyond the oifset portions 17 engaging the plates 15 so as toconfine the same to the door, as lVhen the bolts 14 are movedlongitudinally the offset portions 17 moving in the slot 18 and being inengagement with the plates 15 effect a corresponding movement of thelatter. The horizontal openings 18 near the vertical edges of the doorthrough which the offset portions 17 of the bolts pass are closed upontheir inner sides by means of the plates 15,

thereby preventing any waste of material or the choking of the slots bythe material packing therein.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the advantages of the construction and of themethod of operation will be readily apparent to those skilled in the artto which the invention appertains, and while I have described theprinciple of operation of the invention, together with the device whichI now consider to be the embodiment thereof, I desire to have itunderstood that the device shown is merely illustrative, and that suchchanges may be made when desired as are within the scope of the claimappended hereto.

Having thus described the invention what is claimed as new, is

In combination a car provided in its side with the usual door opening, adoor for closing said opening having horizontal slots in oppositeportions near its vertical edges, an operating lever pivoted to theouter side of the door, bolts pivoted to the operating lever andarranged upon the outside of the door and having offset portions neartheir outer ends passing through the horizontal slots of the door andhaving their terminal portions extending along the inner side of thedoor and adapted to engage the door jambs, and plates arranged upon theinner side of the door adjacent its vertical edges and having openingsthrough which the offset portions of the bolts pass, said plates servingto close said horizontal slots and, to

